Tumor cells can grow without control by weakening specific cells of the immune system, the T-cells, which normally detect and destroy tumor cells. The findings of Dr. Gerald Willimsky and Prof. Thomas Blankenstein (Max Delbrück Center for Molecular Medicine, MDC, Berlin-Buch and Charité) were generated in transgenic mice over a period of seven years and have now been published in the scientific journal Nature* (doi:10.1038/nature03954). Until now, the notion was that tumor cells escape recognition
Percutaneous aortic valve replacement is becoming a reality and brings new hope for a number of patients who cannot currently be treated with traditional surgical techniques.
Whereas surgical valve replacement concerns about 200,000 patients worldwide every year, it is estimated that between 1/3 (Iung et al, Euro Heart Survey, 2003) and 2/3 (Rambas Pai, USC AHA 2004) of patients do not receive surgery due to either excessive risk factors and comorbidities or patient refusal due to
Imaging scientists on Cassini have spent their summer vacations having more fun than kids at a carnival. Analyzing fantastic new results from Cassini’s first season of prime ring viewing, they are announcing today some of their unexpected findings on Saturn’s rings, including new structures in Saturn’s diffuse rings, clumps and knots in the F ring – some of which may be small moons – and a completely unexpected spiral ring around the planet in the vicinity of the F ring.
Single-parent families headed up by lone mothers are the fastest growing family in Australia. Now researchers at the University of Western Sydney ask: Does growing up without a dad at home change a woman’s life, particularly the way she forms relationships with men?
The 12-month study is being led by Associate Professors Debra Jackson and Louise O’Brien from the UWS School of Nursing, Family and Community Health, and also involves nursing honours researcher, Leah East
In patients with an increased risk of heart rhythm problems, cardiac arrest or arrhythmia, eating fish oil did little to reduce that risk. This is the conclusion of a European multi-centre study reported by Brouwer and colleagues of the Wageningen Centre for Food Sciences (WCFS) at the European Society of Cardiology meeting in Stockholm. The findings of this trial do not support strong anti-arrhythmic effects that have been attributed to fish oil in the past. The Study on Omega-3 Fatty acids and
University of Oregon work appears on cover of Inorganic Chemistry
Not all libraries contain books. In chemistry, the word library is used to refer to a collection of molecules. University of Oregon chemist Jim Hutchison’s new way of rapidly generating libraries of tiny particles with great promise for research and development at the nanoscale is featured on the cover of the Sept. 5 issue of Inorganic Chemistry.
“We’ve discovered a method for generating a diver
World’s largest study on acute coronary syndromes
A Canadian-led study involving researchers from 41 countries has demonstrated in the world’s largest study of acute coronary syndromes (ACS) that a new anti-thrombotic therapy is safer and as effective as the traditional therapy used in preventing heart attacks, death and ischemia in people with serious heart conditions.
The OASIS-5/MICHELANGELO study, presented today at the European Society of Cardiology meeting
A group of scientists in Italy have developed a vaccine with the potential to protect against fungal pathogens that commonly infect humans, according to a study by Torosantucci and colleagues in the September 5 issue of The Journal of Experimental Medicine. Although these fungi pose little threat to people with healthy immune systems, they can cause fatal infections in those whose immune systems have been weakened by cancer treatments or post-transplant immunosuppressive therapies. No anti-fungal va
About 60,000 Americans will be diagnosed with melanoma this year, says the American Cancer Society, and 10,000 of those cases will be fatal. If not caught in the early stages, melanoma can be a particularly virulent form of cancer, spreading through the body with an efficiency that few tumors possess. Now, researchers at Whitehead Institute for Biomedical Research have discovered one of the reasons why this particular skin tumor is so ruthless. Unlike other cancers, melanoma is born with its meta
UCL (University College London) scientists have found that the closest living relative to the extinct Irish Elk (giant deer) lives on our shores. The team tested for DNA and skeletal features to prove that the giant deer – which roamed across Europe and Siberia with prehistoric man and is the subject of numerous cave drawings – has its DNA in common with the fallow deer, one of the most widespread deer in the UK since their introduction by the Normans in the eleventh century.
The results,
An international team of researchers has discovered that human embryonic stem cell lines accumulate changes in their genetic material over time.
The findings do not limit the utility of the cells for some types of research or for some future clinical applications, the researchers say, but draw attention to the need to closely monitor stem cell lines for genetic changes and to study how these alterations affect the cells’ behavior. The researchers’ work is described in the
As the future of the tropics unfolds, scientists must explain the dimensions and mechanisms of forest responses to rapid human-population increase and environmental changes
As human populations and their impacts on the world increase, tropical forests are changing in many different ways. Forests are being cleared, burned, logged, fragmented, and overhunted and an unprecedented pace, and they are also being altered in insidious ways by global climatic and atmospheric changes. “The evi
A US Army lab found dehydration has a minimal effect in the cold, but cuts performance by 8% in temperate weather. It’s the difference between a 2 hour-30 minute and a 2:42 marathon. Plus, five “common sense” tips on hydration, exercise and weather
Dehydration has minimal effect in cold, but cuts performance by 8% as temperature rises; the difference between a 2:30 and a 2:42 marathon
Common sense” tips on hydration
For over 20 years, the U.S. Army Research I
Scientists have recently recognized an imbalance in the flow of salty groundwater into the coastal ocean: considerable saltwater discharge into the ocean has been observed, but little or no return flow has been seen. Now it appears that the timing of the discharge may be key to the health of our coastal waters.
New measurements and models suggest that seasonal changes in the water table may provide clues to how water is exchanged and why the largest discharge occurs during th
Novel approach may address viral resistance
Researchers have confirmed for the first time the benefit of an innate defense system present in the few patients who remain healthy after years of infection with HIV despite receiving no treatment, according to an article published in the September edition of the Journal of Virology. The study found that the subset of HIV-infected patients referred to as long-term survivors or nonprogressors have higher amounts of a key enzyme in their
Scientists at the European Molecular Biology Laboratory (EMBL) in Heidelberg and the Institute of Biomedical Research of the Parc Científic de Barcelona (IRB-PCB) have now added key evidence to claims that some types of cancer originate with defects in stem cells. The study, reported this week in the on-line edition of Nature Genetics (September 4) shows that if key molecules aren’t placed in the right locations within stem cells before they divide, the result can be deadly tumors.
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